Something in a dream
by unique.and.proud
Summary: Gibbs receives a phone call confessing to the murder of a Petty Officer, then before hanging up the caller commits suicide. Whilst on the case Tony is plagued by memories of Kate's death. My first fanfic ever! Now complete.
1. Chapter 1: Abrupt awakenings

****

**Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own any of the original characters, stories, concepts etc of NCIS or otherwise, they belong to their respective owners.**

**A/N: Hey, this is all totally brand spanking new to me I thought I'd give writing a fanfic a go and this is my first ever attempt. Please R&R :) **

**Thoughts are in_ italics_ and dreams and flashbacks are _underlined_. Hope this helps avoid confusion.**

* * *

_"Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard…" the sound of a gunshot rattled through his head, as Kate's blood splattered onto his face, leaving the distinct metallic taste of blood on his lips._

Tony woke with a start, the image of Kate's dead body lying on the ground next to him flashed into his mind. He was clammy and was breathing rapidly; a trickle of sweat ran down his forehead and into his eye as he looked around the dimly lit bullpen. Ziva was slouched over her desk snoring quietly, McGee was leaning back in his chair, feet up on his desk with a file hanging precariously on his knee, Gibbs was nowhere in sight but there was a half full coffee cup on his desk so Tony figured he couldn't be far.

The team had been working non-stop the last few days and everyone was beat. They had cracked the case they had been working so tirelessly on earlier in the evening and they had all elected to stay behind to try and finish up on the paper work before calling it a night but fatigue had obviously gotten the better of them, as was evident now as Tony again glanced round at his colleagues.

Tony was still a little shaken from his dream, it had seemed so real, like being back on the rooftop, on that day, the day that Kate had…well he tried not to think about it. Kate had been a big part of his life for two years; his partner, his friend, she was like a sister to him, and she had been stolen from them, he missed her everyday but it had been months since he'd been woken by those images. Months since he had woken up in a cold sweat, trying desperately to rid the pictures from his mind. He looked again at Ziva and McGee and knew that he wouldn't be able to handle loosing either of them, he knew he teased Probie, sometimes to the limit, although McGeek was easy bait and set himself up from some pretty harsh beatings, however he also knew if anything were to happen to him he would be gutted; and Ziva, well Ziva was Ziva and even though he knew that the crazy ninja chick could more than take of herself he still shuddered when he imagined what could happen to her. He glanced at his watch, 0330. Well there was no point in doing anything else now other than go back to sleep and get some shuteye, he folded his arms onto his desk and lay his head down on them. He doubted for a second if he would actually sleep again after the dream but before he knew it he was struggling to keep his eyes open, he surrendered to sleep when his eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

Tony jerked awake for the second time in as many hours. He quickly wiped the saliva from his cheek and ran his hands through his hair. As his eyes focused he noticed Ziva and McGee had also been abruptly and grudgingly woken by the ringing of Gibbs's phone.

Gibbs picked up his phone and squinted at the caller ID which showed a withheld number, he glanced quickly at his watch before answering.

"Gibbs" he answered without a trace of tiredness evident in his voice.

He listened to the speaker on the other end of the phone his face remaining void of any emotion, although the longer the unknown dialer spoke a flash of annoyance and perhaps some disbelief crept into his eyes but still he listened closely and hoped for DiNozzo's sake that this wasn't some crank call. Then the person, as far as he could tell male, admitted to murdering and burying the body of a petty officer in a training ground in Quantico military base. The man tried desperately to explain to Gibbs that it had been years ago and that to this day he was haunted by the image of the dead mans eyes staring blindly back at him, he seemed vague on details as if it had indeed been a long time ago. He pleaded with Gibbs to find the body and give the petty officer a proper burial so that he could at last be respectfully laid to rest. Gibbs glanced round at his team who were all on the edge of their seats waiting patiently for the phone call to end, he felt a momentary flash of pride as he knew no matter how tired his team were they would always be willing to take on a new case, even now as they sat sleepy eyed and hair tousled they were waiting for his word to go. Just as Gibbs was trying to decide if somebody somehow had indeed managed to place a prank phone call to his cell or whether this guy was for real the voice on the other end of the line shakily said goodbye and then there was the resounding noise of a gunshot followed by ringing silence.

* * *

**Reviews please?**


	2. Chapter 2: My team

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews of Chapter 1, hope y'all will continue to read and enjoy.**

* * *

Gibbs stepped out of the truck and began to walk toward the old beat up jeep parked in the middle of the dirt track. The rest of the team trailed along behind him carrying with them the kit, still sleepy but coming round to the fact that they were in for another long haul before they would get some real rest. Ducky followed close behind already reminiscing about a case he had worked many years ago where a young man admitted to murder with his final breathe, only for it to be discovered he in fact hadn't committed the murder. The sun was just beginning to rise and everything was quiet apart from the slurping noises they made with every step in the soft squelching mud underfoot and Ducky's incessant ramble which they had all learnt to block out long ago.

"David, sketch and shoot. DiNozzo, bag and tag evidence" Gibbs barked, pointing roughly at the surrounding area.

"Yes boss" Ziva and Tony chanted in unison, before hurrying off, all trace of tiredness now completely gone.

Gibbs wandered over to where Ducky knelt beside the jeep, examining the body.

"Patience Jethro" Ducky lightly reminded an already impatient Gibbs before he even had the chance to open his mouth.

After a few minutes of carefully examining the gunshot wound to the left temple and measuring liver temperature, Ducky cleared the body over to Gibbs.

"I'm afraid Jethro that I'd have to estimate time of death to be about two hours ago, which unfortunately does coincide with the time you received the call, it looks like our mystery caller could be this poor young lad here." Ducky said with a hint of sadness in his voice as he once again looked over the body of what could only be described as a boy.

Ducky carefully removed the cell phone, which had slipped from the hand upon death and now lay just next to their victim's side, and gave it to Gibbs before gently searching for a wallet or any other means of identification on the body.

"McGee. Here. Now" Gibbs shouted at his younger agent who had been standing by idly for the past few minutes.

McGee stumbled over muttering a quick "Sorry boss" as Gibbs handed him the blood splattered phone. After a couple of seconds fiddling around on the cell McGee looked up to meet Gibbs's stare.

"Um…boss…last call placed on this cell was definitely to your number today at 0527."

Gibbs gave a brief nod of the head, and turned letting a slight sigh escape from his lips as he knew that this was probably going to be another long case.

"Ziva. Tony. Finish up here and meet us back at NCIS when you're done."

* * *

Without much to go on back at NCIS Gibbs was already getting angry at their lack of information surrounding this case. With no ID at the scene they hadn't had much luck but now thanks to Abby they'd managed to ID the guy as a Jaxon Davis, and that was pretty much as far as they had gotten, and he wasn't happy about it.

"McGee I want to know everything there possibly is to know about this Jaxon Davis. From the minute he was born till the minute he shot himself in the head. You got that?"

What had surprised Gibbs was the age of their deceased suspect. Gibbs wasn't normally shocked or surprised at much but Davis could only have been 25 at most and even that was pushing it really. During the phone call Gibbs had originally considered the vagueness of the description and lack of details to be down to the passage of time and that this had been some old man with a guilty conscience about a crime he'd committed years before. Looking at Davis slumped over the wheel in the car though it had been pretty clear that he must have only been a kid when he murdered the still unknown petty officer, if in fact he had murdered him at all, Gibbs never ruled anything out and never assumed anything. Rule number #8: Never take anything for granted. Gibbs was still thinking about this when he was interrupted by McGee.

"Uh, boss you might wanna come see this"

Within seconds McGee had pulled up the history of Davis on the plasma showing Gibbs the rather unexpected findings he'd just moments before come across. Gibbs glanced at the DOB, Jaxon _was_ young; he was only just 22.

"Boss it says here that Davis was in the care of his older brother Riley Davis after their parents died in a road traffic accident, which occurred when Jaxon Davis was 10 years old. Jaxon then went into foster care a year later when his brother, 8 years his elder, enlisted in the navy. His brother, Petty Officer Riley Davis, was reported missing 6 years ago, just vanished from the face of the earth, no evidence and no trace was left behind."

A moment of silence followed, it didn't make any sense to McGee _had this kid murdered his big brother?_

"Uh Boss…do you think it was him, Jaxon Davis I mean? Do you think he killed his brother?

"I don't know McGee, but we're sure as hell gonna find out."

* * *

Arriving at Quantico Military Base, Gibbs had no doubt that his team was now fully awake and alert; they found a Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor waiting to greet them.

"Lieutenant Commander Taylor. NCIS Special Agent Gibbs, these are special agents DiNozzo and McGee and this is Officer David. I understand that you've already been briefed on the situation we have here?"

"Yessir, but I gotta tell you that when Davis first went missing six years ago a full investigation was carried out here on base and we didn't see any sign of foul play, in fact we didn't see any sign of anything at all, it was like he got up one day and just walked away and never came back."

Gibbs swallowed back his anger and glared at Taylor.

"I appreciate that Lieutenant Commander, but this is my investigation now. And believe me when I say if Petty Officer Davis is buried on this base somewhere then my team _will_ find him" Gibbs stressed the word will in his sentence "even if six years ago _You _didn't find a single thing."

* * *

**Thanks for reading please R&R.**


	3. Chapter 3: Worse than kids

**A/N: Again thanks for the support and reviews, and to anyone else who just reads.**

**Remember thoughts are in _italics _and dreams and flashbacks are _underlined_ just to help avoid any confusion.**

* * *

"Boss, it's gotta be him." DiNozzo stated matter-of-factly as he stared down at the corpse below him

After hours of pouring over maps of the base, followed by another couple of hours running over the area with ground penetrating radar, they had eventually found something that had somewhat resembled the remains of a six year old corpse. After finding the location of the corpse they had begun the painstaking effort of digging him up out of the ground he had been laid to rest in so many years ago. They had had to sift through every shuffle of dirt looking for trace evidence. Then as they neared the body they had to slow down to work at a snail's pace, as per Ducky's instructions, so as to preserve the original position of the body and any trace elements which may remain even after all these years. It was no wonder really then that patience's had been growing thin and angers rising, as the team had worked tirelessly underneath the scorching sun, sweat mingling with the mud they were surrounded in, everyone feeling the effects of tiredness under this physical work. Petty bickering had broken out more than once, and everyone had received more than their fair share of Gibbs head slaps over the past few hours.

* * *

A couple of hours after they had begun to dig up the body they hoped they would later identify as Petty Officer Davis, Gibbs and McGee who were working at one side of the body heard an angry outcry from Ziva and they looked down at the pair who were working at the other side of the victim.

"You're always correcting me DiNozzo. You sound like a broken CD." Ziva shouted angrily at DiNozzo before turning her back on him.

Gibbs looked across at his two agents. He had been waiting for Ziva to snap and it appeared now after about the 10th correction of her idiomatic faux pas in about the past 20 minutes she finally had be unable to ignore DiNozzo any longer. _Well done Tony, you've really done it now _he thought grimly as he watched Ziva shoot DiNozzo a look that even scared him a little. Ziva would be in a mood for hours now, no thanks to DiNozzo. _He always took it right up to the edge of the line, he would peer across it, hesitantly put a toe over the other side and then decide to hell with it and jump over regardless, stupid DiNozzo– he just never knew when to give it a rest, when Ziva wasn't happy none of them were particularly happy_.

"Record" Tony muttered under his breath.

Ziva threw Tony another stare that Gibbs was convinced could kill, she then turned her back on him once more and had ceased speaking to him right there and then.

* * *

She had then chosen to, when needed, communicate to Tony through Gibbs or McGee, never looking directly at Tony. DiNozzo had then turned his attentions to teasing McGee and eventually McGee got fed up of being the butt of all of DiNozzo's jokes and had decided to side with Ziva and together they had been giving Tony the silent treatment for the past hour, talking only to each other and completely ignoring DiNozzo altogether, which Gibbs could tell was really annoying him. He wasn't exactly used to not getting his own way and being the centre of everything. _Worse than a bunch of kids _Gibbs thought to himself as McGee helped Ziva out of the excavated area and back up to the car leaving Tony standing in the hole they had dug around the body surrounded by all their various pieces of equipment. He shot Tony a smug look before turning to follow Ziva.

* * *

_"Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard…" Kate's body lying lifeless on the ground. _

Tony jerked forward in his chair, his eyes flying open. He saw Ziva look at him in concern from the corner of his eye. They were sitting in the cool shade of Lt. Cdr. Taylor's office, with the window open a light breeze that hadn't been there when they had been outside blew gently across their faces. They were taking a quick break sipping on chilled bottles of water, waiting for Ducky to arrive before they could actually remove the body from the ground completely. He swore he had just closed his eyes for a second, but it had been long enough. Long enough for those images to worm their way back into his head. _What was wrong with him today?_ Before he could think anymore about it Gibbs's cell rang breaking the peaceful quiet of the room.

_"_Gibbs. Ducky where the hell are you? ... Ducky are you telling me that we're looking for someone else?"

There was a brief pause and Gibbs glanced round at his team, each wearing an expression of confusion on their faces.

Gibbs let out a long deep sigh. "Ok Duck thanks."

He snapped his phone shut and slammed his balled fist into the table.

"What is it boss" DiNozzo asked after a few moments of silence when it became clear that Gibbs wasn't going to volunteer the information he had just received from Ducky.

"Jaxon Davis didn't kill himself. We still have a murderer to find."

* * *


	4. Chapter 4: Bullets

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews, they keep me going. Here's chapter 4. **

* * *

Gibbs entered the lab armed with a Caf-Pow he headed over to Abby stopping first to turn down her music which as usual was blaring out consuming the whole of the lab. _How does she work with that damn racket?_ He wondered for the millionth time before coming to a stop behind her.

She twirled around and grinned always happy to see him.

"What do you got for me Abs?" Gibbs asked holding out the coveted Caf-Pow in his hand waving it teasingly in front of her.

Staring mesmerized at the cup in his hand she blinked before answering.

"Well the only prints that I found on the gun belonged to Jaxon, so no leads there, but…" she quickly continued as Gibbs withdrew the cup from her reach "the tire tracks at the scene weren't from just one car, but two."

She smiled mischievously grabbing the cup from Gibbs hand. "It looks like two cars drove in one behind the other but only one drove out again."

She anticipated his next question answering before he even had the chance to open his mouth.

"One set of tracks obviously belong to the jeep that Jaxon was in but I managed to identify the tracks from the other car and you're looking for a Cadillac Escalade, maybe driven by our killer?"

"Good work Abs" Gibbs smiled kissing her gently on the check.

"Gibbs" she drew out his name showing him that she wasn't done yet "wait I didn't even finish yet, and I saved the best for last"

He turned and looked at her expectantly but she just stood smiling back at him.

"Well come on Abby I haven't got all day"

"Wait till you hear this bossman it is gonna rock your world" she replied flashing him another grin and taking a slurp of Caf-Pow.

He knew that she was teasing him, dragging out this important piece of information.

"Well I ran the bullet that Ducky pulled from the skull of Riley Davis and I got a match." She smiled proudly.

"Gibbs, I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't." she reassured him.

Another moment of silence passed before Gibbs glared at Abby telling her without words to get to the point and get there quickly.

"The bullet from Riley Davis is a match to the bullet that killed Jaxon Davis" she rushed out "Gibbs this means that if Jaxon Davis was murdered and didn't commit suicide then whoever killed Riley six years ago is back" she paused to look up into Gibbs's eyes trying to gage how he was analyzing this new and very unexpected information.

"…to kill his brother" she finished sadly.

* * *

**Thoughts and ideas...?**


	5. Chapter 5: Memories

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews and support. Here's chapter 5, I dunno if it's maybe a bit out of character, I've tried my best so far to stay in character, so please tell me what you think. Remember thoughts are in _italics _and dreams and flashbacks are _underlined_ just to help avoid any confusion.**

* * *

Gibbs entered the bullpen from the elevator wearing an expression that the team knew meant that he'd just had bad news from Abby.

"We have a problem. Abby ran the bullet that Ducky pulled from Petty Officer Davis's remains and got a match."

Tony, McGee and Ziva looked at each other all with the same confused expression plastered on their faces.

"Well this is good then, yes?" Ziva questioned.

"She matched it to the bullet that killed Jaxon Davis, and Ducky has confirmed that he definitely did not commit suicide, so somebody killed both of them"

"You think someone had a grudge against the family Boss? Taking them out one by one?" DiNozzo asked.

"That's what you're gonna find out for me DiNozzo. I want you to pull records of the accident that killed Mr. and Mrs. Davis"

"But boss…" Tony began

"Now DiNozzo" Gibbs said with such ferocity that Tony rushed to his desk and picked up his phone simultaneously beginning to type at his computer."

"McGee I want you to go through all Jaxon Davis's phone records starting from two weeks before he was murdered" Gibbs ordered.

"And, um…what am I looking for Boss" Tim asked uncertainly.

Gibbs glared unblinking at him.

"Right boss I'll know when I find it." McGee said as he too started to type frantically at his keyboard.

"Ziva, you're with me. Grab your gear, we're going to Quantico, to have another little chat with our friend Lieutenant Commander Taylor" Gibbs said as he started walking toward the elevator.

Ziva hurriedly grabbed her stuff, and looked across at Tony as he glanced up from his keyboard; she threw him another evil look telling him that she was still mad at him. He dropped his eyes back down to his desk and Ziva smiled in satisfaction, she would let him suffer just a little longer she thought.

She was just at the elevator when she heard Tony draw in a gasp.

She turned quickly and saw Tony staring at his computer screen, his face white and with an expression on his face that she couldn't quite work out, something between fear and sadness maybe?

She watched as McGee stood up and walked towards Tony. The elevator doors opened behind her and still she faced Tony unable to turn away from him, it was the look in his eyes that gave away that something had deeply unsettled him. _Tony is my partner and something has obviously upset him. I just need to check and make sure he's alright and then I'll go straight down to the garage and meet Gibbs._ One of the voices in her head reasoned. _Yeah and when you get there Gibbs will head slap you then not to talk to you the whole way to Quantico as a punishment to you, DiNozzo is probably just pulling some stunt to get you to forgive him._ The other voice retaliated. _Tony is your friend. _The first voice emphasized and this settled that argument for Ziva.

"Tony are you…" McGee had started before he stopped abruptly upon reaching Tony's desk. His eyes were focused on the screen and he knew immediately what had thrown Tony.

Now Ziva knew something was definitely wrong. She was at Tony's desk in an instant and looked down at the screen to see what could possibly have gotten her two co-workers into such a state.

The screen held a photo. Tony had obviously managed to find the police report of the accident quickly and right now one of the crime scene photos was all that was displayed.

She didn't understand. _They saw death almost every day. Why was this photograph any different? _She looked up at McGee's face then at Tony, she had to be missing something. She set her focus once again on the photo displayed on the screen. The car was pretty smashed up. The driver, Mr. Davis had been thrown from the car through the windscreen. His body lay crumpled in a heap a few feet away from where the car had screeched to an eventual halt. The woman, Mrs. Davis was still sitting in the passenger seat. She was deathly pale and her eyes were closed. There was a tiny cut on her forehead but if you hadn't known any better you could have mistaken her for being asleep.

This could have been a photo from any road traffic accident. Still McGee and Tony were silently staring at the screen; she knew she wasn't going to get the answers she needed unless she asked the question. She almost dreaded it. Before finally breaking the silence that had fallen around them for the past few minutes she looked once more at Tony then directed her gaze at McGee.

"McGee, I don't underst…" she was cut off by Tony.

"Kate" he whispered almost inaudibly, she wasn't actually sure at first if he had really said it or not.

She returned her gaze back to the photo still displayed innocently on the screen. Then it struck her. She had never met Kate. She knew that she had been an outstanding agent, a wonderful person, a much valued part of the team and an irreplaceable friend, but she only knew this from what she had been told, she had never had the pleasure of meeting Agent Todd. She had however seen photos and once again staring at the photo on the monitor, she saw the resemblance. She knew it wasn't, but for the subtlest details it could very well have been. Her memories send her unwillingly back to the time of Kate's death.

_"I've killed enough men in my life. It's gonna be just sweet watching you die" she heard Gibbs tell Ari._

_"Sorry to spoil your…"_

_She pulled the trigger softly, her shot is true, which was no less than she expected, one shot to the head. She hears the cry escape from his lips. He falls backwards the gun dropping from his hands. She watches as the life escapes from Ari's body and death embraces him as he hits to the ground._

_She walks slowly down the stairs as she watches Gibbs walk over to the body and pick up the rifle._

_"His father is the deputy director of Mossad?" Gibbs asks her, although she knows that by now Gibbs has figured it out._

_"Yes" she hears herself reply, still unable to believe that her brother could be such a monster._

_"Not David" Gibbs questions her, though again she is aware that he already knows the answer._

_"Yes. He's my half-brother" she tries to hold back her emotion; she doesn't want Gibbs to see her like this._

_Gibbs she is thankful seems to understand. He squeezes her hand giving her more comfort than he can know and then turns and leaves._

_She takes a step closer to the man that was once her brother and does the only thing she can think of to do as she opens her mouth and lets the words of the prayer flow freely. She has made hundreds of kills in her lifetime but none like this. Her body is numb. The emotions just at the edge fighting their way through the wall she has spent her entire life building around her._

A movement close to her brings Ziva back to the present and away from the memories she has tried so hard to forget. McGee and Tony are still routed to the spot, but Tony has his hand to his face, wiping away the single tear that he has let escape from his glassy tear filled eyes, betraying the full extent of his sadness. She's never seen him cry before, and the sight unsettles her ever so slightly.

Tony can't quite believe that this is happening, first the dream and now this. He can feel the track of the tear escaping and falling down his cheek. _Why am I crying? Kate is gone and she's never coming back _he thinks angrily to himself. The image of Kate lying dead on the rooftop flashes to the forefront of his mind as he feels Ziva clasp his hand in hers and squeeze it gently.

He looks up into her eyes pulling his own away from the screen for the first time in minutes.

"She looks exactly like Kate did" he states simply.

* * *

**So what do you think? Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed, after all it's you guys that read this, which I appreciate :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Vendetta

**A/N: Remeber I've put the thoughts in _italics _and the flashbacks are underlined. Thanks again for the reviews especially Trivette Lover Heather, who is kinda helping me out a bit. Y'all should totally check out the story 'Blame'. It's pretty awesome! :)**

/s/4473653/1/Blame

* * *

Gibbs glowered at Ziva, as she approached him at a fast paced walk almost jogging. She had just left Tony upstairs with McGee, she was fairly certain that by now they'd have gotten back to work and weren't still staring at the photo. She hadn't known what to say, what words would really offer him the comfort that he needed? Kate had been dead for about seven months now and clearly they hadn't recovered from her death as well as they'd like to believe, the emotions were hidden most of the time, but they were still obviously just below the surface.

Ziva had mentally prepared what she was going to say to Gibbs on her way down in the elevator. She was about the open her mouth to spout out the afore planned excuse for keeping him waiting when he spoke out first. _Damn, should've brought him a coffee that might have worked _she thought as she hurried the last few steps to the passenger side of the car.

"Where the hell have you been?" his tone accusational demanded an answer, and she knew he wanted the truth so her perfectly rehearsed excuse went out the window.

"Um…it's Tony…" she began not really knowing how to put this, she knew that Gibbs still blamed himself for Kate's death, he probably always would, and no matter how well the ex-marine hid his feelings Ziva knew that he missed Kate.

"Spit it out David, what did DiNozzo do this time" _God sometimes I really do feel like I'm a high school principal_ he thought, but it was quickly banished as he saw the looked in Ziva's eyes.

"Ziva…" he implored.

"Tony managed to pull the crime scenes photos from the accident that killed Mr. and Mrs. Davis" she hesitated again, _before she had come to NCIS none of this would ever have been a problem, was that a good or a bad thing? Emotion? Feelings? One thing was certain, her new team, her new friends, her new family had certainly managed to creep under her guard and without her noticing how much she cared about them_ "and well Mrs. Davis bears a striking resemblance to Agent Todd" she finished quietly.

Gibbs's mind takes him back to a day nearing three years ago.

_He can see her just in front of him, he jogs to catch up with her "I heard you quit, Agent Todd"_

_He slows down when he reaches her and walks beside her._

_"Happy news gets around fast. Yes, I resigned. It was the right thing to do" she replies despondently._

_He just carries on walking "Yup. Pull that crap at NCIS; I won't give you a chance to resign."_

_"Is that a job offer?" he can hear the surprise in her voice and allows himself a small smile._

He snapped himself out of his memories of Kate. _Focus on the case in hand._

"What do you mean bears a resemblance Officer David?"

"Gibbs" she sighed before continuing "she could have been an older version of Kate"

Gibbs gave a firm shake of his head dispelling all remaining thoughts of Kate from his mind and opened the car door.

* * *

"Ah…Boss…I have something that you might wanna hear." McGee said over the phone, Gibbs could feel the excitement build up in his younger agents voice, and he knew McGee had found something instrumental to solving the case.

"I pulled all of Jaxon Davis's phone records Boss, it's all pretty regular stuff apart from one week before his murder he received a call from a Marine Lt. Colonel Michael Young, the first call lasted only a few seconds. A number of calls were made from Young to Davis over the week, becoming more and more frequent and lasting longer with every call, the final call placed was a half hour before Davis phoned you Boss on the night of his murder, and that call lasted for about 17 minutes. I checked Davis's outgoing numbers and there are no outgoing calls from Davis to Young except one, Davis phoned Young at 2100 on the day before he was murdered. I've been looking at backdated phone records and I can't see that they had any previous contact, Boss."

"Good work McGee. Where is Young stationed now?"

He could hear McGee tap the keys of his keyboard.

"Boss he's currently stationed at Quantico"

"Okay McGee, I want you to find out everything you can about Young, you got that?"

"On it B…" McGee was interrupted and through the phone line Gibbs could hear a small scuffle and the distinct sound of a slap and then DiNozzo's voice.

"Boss thought you should know that the night Young first contacted Davis just happens to be…" Tony sounded smug.

"The anniversary of the accident? And DiNozzo if I hear or see you head slapping McGee again I will slap you into next week" Gibbs finished and smiled as he imagined DiNozzo's disbelieving look.

"Oh come on Boss how'd you…" Tony looked at the cell phone in his hand; Gibbs had hung up on him. _How was he always one step ahead of them all, all the time?_

"Well that's just great Probie, he hung up on me" Tony snarled venting his anger out on the closest target, his thoughts were still centered around Kate, and hard as he try he just couldn't get the image of her out of his mind.

_He always loved going undercover, especially ones likes this, he'd had to do it, I mean come on who'd have really believed that McNerd could've slept with Kate?_

_"You writin' my name right?"_

_"What! I just wanna know if it's mine. She kinda sleeps around a lot if you know what I mean." Oh boy, was it bad that he was enjoying this so much?_

_"If I did, it's cuz he ain't any good in bed." Oh Kate you wish you could get the DiNozzo treatment, don't ya?_

_"Least I didn't sleep with my cousin" He retorted. This was fun. How else could he really embarrass her?_

_"You slept with my sista!" Nice one Kate didn't think you had it in you._

_"I thought it was you!"_

_"She weighs 300 lbs." Oh Kate, come on, I have a reputation here!_

* * *

"Tony? Tony?! Are you even listening to me?" McGee called pulling him back into the present.

"Whatd'ya got McGee?"

"Ok so we now know that Jaxon Davis was murdered two days ago, but that his murder was set up to look like a suicide. Before he was murdered he admitted to having killed a Petty Officer and burying his body at Quantico. We identified this missing Petty Officer to be Riley Davis his brother, on discovering his body we learned he was murdered with a single gunshot to the head around the time he went missing. The bullets pulled from each of the victims match so were fired from the same gun, possibly by two different people but unlikely."

"Look McBoring, tell me something I don't know"

"Okay okay. Assuming that the 'accident' that killed the parents wasn't an accident either and was really another murder, it would appear that someone is out to get the entire family right? Well the only thing out of the ordinary from the phone records were these calls from Lt. Colonel Michael Young"

"Hurry it up McGee, I'm getting old here listening to you ramble on" Tony interrupted again, rather impatient now.

"Right. So I've checked up on our Lt. Colonel and his file shows that he was adopted. Records show that his birth mother's name was Holly Smith. Later married to become known as Mrs. Holly Davis. Tony, I think that this is our guy. He's on some personal vendetta against his birth mother and the family she had after she gave him up."

"Isn't that jumping to conclusions McLoser? How'd you know that he didn't just look up his birth mother and find Jaxon that way? Young might not be involved at all and Jaxon's death might just be a coincidence"

"Well Tony, we don't believe I coincidences. Besides I checked Young's service records. He was based at Quantico at the time of the disappearance and murder of Petty Officer Davis."

"Ok I'm onboard with the idea, well done McGee" he smiled his 1000 watt smile at the probie.

"Uh, thanks Tony"

"Now you phone Gibbs and tell him."

* * *

**Reviews?**


	7. Chapter 7: Haunted

Tony turned the key in his lock and pushed the door open. He slammed the door shut behind him and chucked his bag down onto the ground, letting out a sigh. He wandered slowly round his house turning lights on and pulling blinds closed.

He was exhausted. The whole team had been exhausted. Once McGee had found out all there was to know about Marine Lt. Colonel Michael Young he had relayed the information onto Gibbs, but by the time he and Ziva had arrived at Quantico, there was no sign of him anywhere. He had outsmarted them again, and now who knew where he was? He'd upped and left, leaving behind no indication of where he might be heading, but he was smart, he'd gotten away with three murders already and he wasn't likely to hand himself over after the fourth.

Heading towards the fridge in the hunt for food he thought back over the last few hours. Gibbs and Ziva had done all they could at the base. He had ordered Tony and McGee to follow up on their own leads; but all of them had came out empty handed. After hours of futile investigating Gibbs ordered them to go home to rest; knowing full well they'd need fresh eyes tomorrow. McGee had left in a hurry, almost as if he were trying to leave before Gibbs changed his mind and had them pull an all nighter, muttering his goodnights, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn, he'd left before Tony had even gotten out of his seat. Ziva had packed away her stuff slowly, darting her eyes across to him every so often to make sure he was still okay, he guessed she was just worried about him after his little breakdown upon seeing the photo of Mrs. Davis, the woman who'd looked so like Kate. It was understandable that Ziva had been concerned, he was her partner and she needed to know if anything was bothering him and if he wasn't going to be at his best. Finally she had left when it became abundantly clear that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Go home DiNozzo" Gibbs had ordered once Ziva had disappeared into the elevator.

"You know boss, I'd rather just stay here and…"

"It wasn't a suggestion DiNozzo, go home. Now" Gibbs had interrupted with a deadpan expression, no arguing with him tonight, he was pissed at having come up empty after hours of searching.

Reluctantly he had packed away his stuff in silence. He hadn't wanted to go home. He couldn't face going to sleep. He knew that in the depths of sleep he would only be haunted by the images of Kate flashing through his brain. Finally he had left with a nod of the head in Gibbs's direction and made his way to the elevator.

He had driven home slowly, delaying the inevitable really; he couldn't drive all night, cos as much as he didn't want to go to sleep it didn't mean that he wasn't tired. He'd eventually without realizing it, ended up at home and now here he was, standing in front of the fridge. He had to stop thinking. To stop going over that facts of the case. To stop reliving every moment of the past. To stop thinking about Kate.

He pulled out a beer and began to debate whether or not ordering a pizza was a good idea. He decided against the pizza, unusual decision for him but if he didn't get some sleep, Gibbs would not be a happy bunny in the morning.

Tony finally settled into bed after watching a few Magnum reruns on TV. He tried to fight his eye lids; but they soon got the best of him.

* * *

_They're both crouching outside the door to McGee's apartment. This is way more fun than just knocking. McGee would never have done this if it were the other way round. He can tell she's trying hard not to giggle he turns to face her and flashes her his DiNozzo smile and then they can't both help but giggle quietly, finally they pick the lock and push the door open._

_"Told you he was a boxers guy" _

_"Yeah, McGee, I thought for sure you were a tighty whitey man"_

He rolls over in his sleep a content smile on his face.

_"Who would send me a letter with anthrax?" he wonders out loud_

_"Pick a girl, Tony. Any girl." Very funny Kate_

_"You know, it might not be anthrax."_

_"I like the sound of that, Probie!"_

_"It could be smallpox, bubonic plague, cholera..."_

_"Probie!"_

_"...foot powder, face powder, talcum powder..."_

_"Honey dust!"_

_"Honey dust?" _

_"Honey dust. I give it to girls." He can just picture Kate glowering at him through the shower wall._

_"Women! Sorry, Kate. I give it to "women" at Christmastime. Very sensuous. You apply it with a feather."_

_"You don't use the whole chicken?"_

_"I never heard of honey dust." Aww poor probie so young and naïve. _

_"Yeah, that's because your mother raised you to respect women, McGee."_

_"It makes a woman's skin feel silky smooth. When kissed, it tastes like honey" …what the hell? Gibbs?_

_"Got a box of Honey dust last Christmas. No card." Damn it_

He twists in his sheets again. He wriggles around. His eyes darting behind the lids that veil them. Tiny beads of sweat forming on his brow glisten in the reflection of the moonlight shining in through a gap in the curtains.

_"So, tell me Doc. What have I got?"_

_The doctor sighs before answering, never a good sign "Pneumonic plague"._

_"Plague?" the plague, no way that can't be right can it? "Plague…"_

_"That's right Tony. Plague. Cos only you would go off and get a disease from the dark ages."_

_"I didn't put plague in the letter."_

_"You opened it!"_

_"Yeah. So I opened it. What are you so upset about? It's not like your lying..." Oh no Kate please tell me you aren't infected too, please._

_"Yeah. That's right Travolta. I'm infected too." Oh Katie, I'm so so sorry._

Laying in bed his heart rate start to increase slowly and his breathing becomes more labored. He needs to wake up now_._

_He sees Kate drop her gun and run and launch herself in front of Gibbs shouting shooter just seconds before the bullets hits her chest and she collapses in a heap on the floor. Kate!  
_

He knows where this is going, his mind is trying to waken him, to prevent him having to see her face again, pale and empty with unseeing eyes staring up at him. He is stuck in his sleep though, unable to pull himself from his slumber.

_She's standing up now, they're still there on the rooftop, but at least she's ok and the threat is gone._

_"Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard…" those words break his heart every time he relives them._

_The bullet. Blood. Her legs crumple and she hits the ground. She's gone. She's really gone._

His mind is trying to wake him, but he just can't break loose from these nightmares. As once again he's transported back to that day.

_He's in autopsy. Standing right in front of the drawer he knows his partner lies in. Lost in an eternal sleep. He pulls the handle and the door opens with a hiss, he pulls out the drawer and looks down. The bullet wound dark and red against her skin paled in death; it's the first thing that his attention is drawn to. He draws in a deep breath and moves his gaze down to study her face._

He bolts upright in his bed and his eyes fly open. He snaps them shut again and vigorously shakes his head as if the act will clear his thoughts. Reluctantly he reopens his eyes slowly; whilst they try to focus in the darkness surrounding him he reaches out to switch on the lamp. The cold sweat enveloping his body causing him to shiver. He glances around the room. His duvet is lying in a heap on the floor next to his bed, and his body is caught up and twisted in his sheets. He thinks back to the dream that tore him from his sleep just moments before.

_They had been up on the rooftop and she had fallen, she was gone. Then suddenly as if time had jumped forward they'd arrived back at NCIS. He'd been in autopsy, standing in front of the drawer he knew she lay in. On opening it he'd seen the bullet wound where the sniper had hit her, then he had seen her face_.

He couldn't believe it had been a dream, it had felt so real, he struggled to comprehend what this could mean. He closed his eyes again the image still emblazoned on the back of his eyelids, knowing that that single image would haunt him forever. He clenched his fist by his side and whispered her name as if to protect her from his dream.

"...Ziva"

* * *

**_A/N: I know that this isn't a very plot driven chapter but I kinda wanted to try it, so what did you guys think?_**

**_Reviews? :)_**


	8. Chapter 8: Cafe Nero

He could feel Ziva's scrutinizing gaze on him but refused to look up and acknowledge her. The squad room was fairly quiet probably due to the earliness of the hour and this made him feel even more uncomfortable. Gibbs was up in MTAC and Probie was more than likely down in Abby's lab, so it was just him and Ziva. He was staring intently at his computer and flipping through some notes that sat on the desk before him; she wasn't even bothering to keep up the pretence of working and was openly staring at him. He felt like he was under a microscope and he couldn't handle it any longer.

"I'm going for coffee" he announced as he swiftly stood up and headed towards the elevator successfully managing to avoid her eyes.

Ziva knew that it had been Tony that had called her, and as she watched the elevator doors slide closed behind him she wondered why he was on such an edge. Last night she'd been jolted out of her sleep by the sound of her phone ringing, at first she thought it must be Gibbs with a lead on the case but as she answered she was met with only silence from the other end. She didn't know how but she knew then that it was Tony. She'd spoken his name into the phone and still had received no reply but the continual faint breathing on the other end of the line before the line had gone dead.

Most would assume that it was something to do with the case that had made DiNozzo so jumpy, but he was her partner, she knew him better than most and she was inclined to think that this had nothing to do with the case and was something completely unrelated but still equally important. She was just thinking back to when it had started and that pained expression he'd worn back in Lieutenant Commander Taylor's office a couple of days ago when Gibbs started running down the stairs.

"David, where's DiNozzo?" he shouted out to her as he jumped the last few of the stairs.

"Coffee" she replied her mind still lost in her thoughts of Tony, she couldn't help but worry about him, he was her partner right?

"Phone him and tell him to meet us at Abby's, she says she found something."

Gibbs was already hitting the button of the elevator as she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed Tony's number. It went straight to voicemail.

"Tony you better get back here and meet us in Abby's lab before Gibbs gets really mad" she wanted to add hope you're ok or if you need to talk you know where I am, or something that would comfort him, but it wasn't really her thing and she didn't know what to say without sounding patronizing, so she left it at that and hung up before racing over to the elevator and slipping in just before the doors closed.

She followed Gibbs into Abby's lab and saw McGee's hands flashing over the keyboard while Abby spun around with her hands out waiting for the usual Caf Pow.

She was disappointed "Aww Gibbs no Caf-Pow"

"What do you got Abs?"

"Okay…" she burled back round to face her computer. "I was going through all this stuff you brought back from Colonel Young's place, I decided to start with his laptop cos you know these days everybody puts everything onto their laptop, everything is done electronically, you know I think…"

"Abs, some time today would be nice" Gibbs interrupted her before she began her full blown ramble.

"Geez, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning Bossman? I mean normally you at least bring me a Caf-Pow" she was going to continue until she saw the flash of impatience cross Gibbs's face.

"So anyways I found something you might find interesting in his e-mail folder. The e-mail was sent 2 days ago at 1400 however it was from an anonymous account so no leads there yet but it's more what's in the actual e-mail that's important. Here"

She displayed the e-mail on the plasma screen.

"This Tuesday. 1100. Café Nero. Table out front. Bring the cash." McGee read off the screen.

Gibbs glared at him.

"Sorry boss I just though well you don't have your glasses and…"

"I even got you an address Gibbs" Abby smiled sweetly sticking the post it onto his chest, saving McGee from a head slap.

Gibbs leaned over as Abby moved her cheek in towards him to receive the customary peck on the cheek.

"That's good work Abs" he called over his shoulder as he turned around and headed back out the lab, closely followed by Ziva, McGee trailing behind.

"Gibbs wait" she hollered across the room stopping Gibbs in his tracks.

"You owe me a Caf-Pow" she said cheekily before twirling round again to get back to work.

* * *

Gibbs crashed into Tony as he stepped out of the elevator and back into the squad room. He saw a momentary flash of fear cross DiNozzo's face, and he inwardly smirked as he slapped the back of his senior field agents head.

"Watch what you're doin DiNozzo"

"Yeah boss, sorry bout that I was uh…" he trailed off as his eyes glanced toward the tall slim blonde wearing a very mini mini skirt that was standing just meters away from him.

"Abby got us a lead. Possible location for our missing colonel. Grab your gear."

* * *

Ziva and Tony sat silently in the car, eyes and binoculars trained on the tables set out on the patio in front of the café. Neither had said a word about anything except information pertaining to the case since they'd got into the car. They were parked on the opposite side of the street a few yards back from the café front. Gibbs and McGee were positioned at the other end of the street in a van.

"DiNozzo, David" Gibbs's voice crackled in their ears "it's show time. Guy in the black jacket wearing the baseball cap, he's carrying a brief case in his left hand and right hand is in his pocket. He's walking up on your side of the street, quite fast pace; he'll be up on you in a couple of seconds. We're coming up."

Tony turned to face his partner, and his eyes locked on hers, he sent her a look that plainly stated that he didn't want to talk, that he was fine and that they had work to do.

In return she nodded, checked her firearm and pushed open the car door.

Tony's eyes followed their guy as he crossed the street, he was far enough away for them to still see him but not close enough for him to know he was being tailed. He stepped around the front of the car to join Ziva and together they started across the road. So far they hadn't seen anyone alone at the café but it was still a few minutes to the arranged time so Young was early. He glanced up the street and saw McGee and Gibbs make their way toward them. _This doesn't seem right. What are these God damn dreams all about, are they a message, like a warning? This is too easy. Am I supposed to stop something from happening? This guy knows his stuff. Why would he make a stupid mistake like this? I have to somehow protect Ziva, like I should have protected Kate._ As his train of thoughts flickered between his dream from the previous night and their current situation he realized too late that they'd been played and as this one thought entered his head superseding all others he grabbed Ziva by the wrist and dived for cover as the first round of bullets rained down around them. He felt a sting on his right shoulder, but it didn't matter. _Nothing matters except me protecting Ziva_. He held onto Ziva and covered her body with his. Screams erupted in the air. The horrifying sounds of gunshot filled his ears and his mind flashed back to his dream from last night, the image of Ziva's dead body lying in front of him.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter please R&R and hopefully I'll get the next one up soon**


	9. Chapter 9: Photos

**Sorry for the delay again guys but this time I have an excuse, I've not had much internet access recently, which btw is very annoying! Not much of an excuse I know but still an excuse :)**

**Thanks again for reviews and especially thanks to Trivette Lover Heather who has been helping me throughout and particularly with this chapter :D**

* * *

Ziva heard the explosion and new it was close but Tony's body had her pinned to the ground and she couldn't react with her natural Mossad instincts.

"Tony! What are you doing? Get off me" Ziva pushed Tony off her and couldn't fail to notice his sharp intake of breath.

Suddenly she was worried "Tony were you hit?"

"Nah I'm ok Zee-vah, just a graze" she ignored his brush off remark and her eyes darted to his shoulder, blood staining the pristine white of his shirt.

"DiNozzo, David you two okay?" she heard their boss call but the air was filled with smoke and people were running around frantically screaming and shouting, the wail of sirens nothing but a distant noise in the background. She applied pressure to Tony's wound and shouted in the direction of Gibbs's voice.

"Gibbs, Tony has taken a hit to the right shoulder, it's just a graze though, and it seems to be only slight superficial damage"

She took a moment to assess her surroundings. She saw the car a few meters down the street on the other side of the road, it was up in flames and she could only assume that a stray bullet had hit the gas tank. She concentrated her focus on Tony again.

"DiNozzo you ok?" Gibbs and McGee had rushed to their side.

"Yeah boss I'm fine, Ziva here just wants to play doctor" he looked up at her and grinned.

She narrowed her eyes at him and lifted her fist to give him a punch before remembering that he was already injured. Tony had seen her reaction and closed his eyes.

"Don't worry Tony. You don't kick a duck when he's down, yes?"

"It's dog and you more use that saying when…"

Gibbs coughed to grab his two arguing agents' attention; Tony looked up to his boss as Ziva pressed down a little harder on his wound.

"Where's Young? I owe him a bullet in the shoulder"

"Bastard got away" Gibbs growled.

* * *

Gibbs eyed Tony curiously as the EMT's looked him over. For some odd reason his gaze seemed fixated on Ziva; even more than usual. His gut feeling carried his feet to his Senior Agents side.

"See something you like DiNozzo?"

Tony had to smile. "Well yeah, boss...but that's not what you're reallyasking is it?" He watched Gibbs slowly shake his head. "Right well...you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Tony cringed as some pain ran through his shoulder. "Okay, only if you promise not to call me crazy."

"I'm gonna call you a lot worse than that if you don't spit it out."

He nodded. "Well I know you, me...us...we've moved on from Kate...and I know it sounds nuts but...I've been having these dreams..."

Gibbs put his hand up; sensing where he was headed. "Ziva is taking Kate's place isn't she?"

"Yeah how'd you...?"

Gibbs interrupted as his mind replayed an old dream that sadly became a reality. "Don't take it lightly Tony; hell I cant explain it...wont even try...just follow your gut."

* * *

Gibbs sat in the waiting room at Bethesda they had decided to bring DiNozzo in just to get him checked out to make sure it really wasn't anything to serious. The crime scene at the café had been contained and he had McGee and Ziva working there now. No civilians had been injured in the crossfire or the explosion and he knew that Tony and Ziva had been lucky, he had seen DiNozzo grab hold of Ziva and dive for cover just in time, he was proud of his senior field agent, and he wanted to catch Young now more than ever, especially when he thought back to his chat with Tony earlier.

"Agent Gibbs?" the doctor approached him glancing down at his clipboard.

"That's me, how is he?"

"Agent DiNozzo is fine. It's just a minor injury, he's very fortunate that the bullet just grazed his shoulder, however he has suffered from some blood loss and ordinarily I'd be keeping him in overnight for observation but he's adamant that he's waking out of here now, because he's informed me that if he doesn't you'll and I quote 'Gibbs slap the back of my head'" the doctor arched his eyebrows and watched Gibbs smile slightly.

"Maybe he hit his head too, got him a bit confused"

"Well I've agreed to let him leave but I don't want him to do anything to strenuous. I've also prescribed him some strong pain medication so he may be a bit drowsy from that, so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on him, I'd don't want him back in here in a few hours. He's in the room just up and to the left."

"Thank-you doctor" Gibbs nodded his head, and began to turn.

"No problem, just please try and refrain from…" he paused for a moment "Gibbs slapping, at least for a few days" the two shared a smile before Gibbs headed off towards Tony's room.

He peered through the window and saw Tony sitting up in bed, a TV remote in his good hand, eyes fixated on the screen chuckling at whatever program he was watching.

He pushed the door open and stepped in causing Tony to jump up in bed and switch off the TV trying and failing to discreetly hide the remote.

"DiNozzo, do you like getting shot at or do you just get yourself into these situations for the sympathy?"

"Well you know I get to sit in bed for a few hours watching Magnum, don't have to listen to Ziva abusing the English language or Probie rambling about elves and fairies and whatever else he pretends to be online and it gives me a bit of a break from the constant glares and hea …"

He felt the familiar albeit gentler slap to the back of the head "these head slaps you mean?"

"Thank-you boss, those head slaps"

"Uh-huh"

He turned and began to head back out of the room, stopping in the doorway he turned.

"You coming or not DiNozzo? You were the one that said you had to leave now so you didn't get Gibbs slapped" he tried hard to keep the amusement out of his voice.

Tony let out a nervous chuckle "doctor told you that huh?"

"No DiNozzo, I'm physic now get moving" he walked through the door in search of a coffee machine.

* * *

He sat down outside on a bench, coffee in hand he raised it to his lips and let the scent fill his nostrils and then his phone rang.

"Gibbs"

"Hey Gibbs it's me. Is Tony ok?"

"He's fine Abs, we'll be back soon he's just getting ready to leave."

"You promise he's ok?"

"Yeah Abby I promise"

"Ok I believe you."

"Good to know. Now don't you have work you should be doing?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me Gibbs?"

Before he could reply he heard a faint beep

"Oh gotta go Gibbs Major Mass Spec has just spat out some results."

"Ok, Bye Abs"

"Be nice to Tony Gibbs, he was shot at you know"

"Amn't I always nice?"

"Yeah sure to me"

He laughed

"Well that's cos you don't annoy me like DiNozzo does"

"I see what you mean, but be nice to him anyway ok?"

"Ok Abby"

"And come see me as soon as you get back so I can give Tony a nice big get better hug cos I always think that…"

"Talk to you later Abs"

He closed his phone shut and finally took a sip of his coffee.

He sat lost in his thoughts about the case, about his team, and about how many more chances Tony had, that boy would be the death of him.

He swallowed down the last of the coffee, threw the cup in the trash and headed back inside the hospital.

As the doors slid closed behind him he saw Tony getting pushed towards him in a wheelchair. He was wearing a green scrub top, his right shoulder slightly bulkier than the left, his arm in a sling. He was having an animated conversation with the nurse that was pushing him along. He looked up and saw Gibbs staring at him. He jumped out of the chair twisted round and gave the pretty nurse an apologetic cheeky grin before rushing over towards him.

"Boss I told them I didn't need a wheelchair escort out but well they insisted and that nurse was kinda…"

He trailed off when he saw the frown on Gibb's face.

"Shutting up now boss"

"Best idea you've had all day DiNozzo."

They made their way out of the hospital and to the car in silence. Gibbs opened the passenger door for Tony allowing him to step in before slamming the door closed behind him. Tony closed his eyes and let out a sigh in the second his eyes where shut a stream of images flashed through his brain. _Kate laying dead on the rooftop a bullet through her forehead all life squeezed from her body. Kate's coffin being lowered into the ground, the mass of people surrounding it showing how much she was loved. Ziva lying cold and pale down in Ducky's autopsy._ He opened his eyes quickly and he gulped in some air. He thought about Gibbs's words to him earlier.

Gibbs turned to look at his agent and was just about to say something when his cell phone rang.

"Gibbs"

"Uh boss you might wanna get back here now, Young has been here"

"McGee what the hell you talking about?"

"Uh, NCIS boss. Somehow Young got a letter delivered to us"

"How McGee?"

"I don't know boss, but uh, it's…"

"McGee!!"

"Right sorry boss, it's not good, the letter is basically a threat that if we don't back off and stop the investigation Young is gonna well, he's uh, he'll kill you boss"

Tony had heard McGee through the phone and looked up at Gibbs to clock his reaction. There was none. Just cool calm and collected Gibbs.

"Get that letter down to Abby McGee, Young may have an accomplice in this. DiNozzo and I will be there ASAP."

"Uh boss, that's not all…"

McGee stopped short, but got himself together quickly.

"There are photos too boss"

"Of…?"

"Well there are photos of the crash that killed Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Petty Officer Riley Davis dead and in the ground before he was buried, Jaxon Davis in the car, slouched dead over the steering wheel . There are another six photos boss, all of the subjects are dead and we think they might be other family members, I've got Ziva working on them now."

"Ok good work McGee and I want you to get onto tracking Young down now, I want that bastard caught"

"Boss there's one more photo." McGee swallowed allowing himself a moment to gather his courage. "Of you."

There was complete silence. Tony could hear his heart beating. His ears were drumming, he thought it was funny that silence could be so deafening.

"They're from the crime scene boss. The Jaxon Davis crime scene, at his jeep. He must have been there somehow, watching us. On the photo Young has crossed out your face in red pen…boss you're a marked man"

* * *

**So any ideas of where I go from here?**


	10. Chapter 10: Hero

"What have you got for me Abs?" Gibbs marched into the lab, his no nonsense look on his face.

"Gibbs!!" Abby squealed running into his arms "I'm so glad you're ok"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He smiled, his eyes sparkling as he watched her brow crinkle in confusion.

"Well...you know? The letter? The death threat. You being a marked man. Psycho dude Young trying to kill everyone. Ringing any bells?" she looked up at him in concern, _maybe he was injured in the explosion too?_

He flashed her one of those smiles he reserved just for her; she was just about to open her mouth to reprimand him for taking the situation so lightly when she saw Tony enter the lab.

"Tony!!" she screeched, not quite as high pitched as for Gibbs but more so than most normal people could reach.

She hugged him tightly before releasing her grip when he yelped in pain.

"Oh my gosh Tony I'm so sorry" she clenched her fists by her side to prevent the urge she had to wrap her arms around him again, she glanced around and noticed Bert lying on top of the cabinet next to her.

"Here Tony" she said handing Tony the stuffed farting hippo "Bert will make you feel better"

Tony just stared mystified at the soft toy in his hand "Uh thanks Abby, does Bert know how to do stitches by any chance cuz I'm pretty sure you just knocked a few of mine out"

She looked at him horrified.

"Uh it's ok though" he said quickly and watched the relief spread instantly over her features "I'll just go see Ducky...with uh Bert to keep me company."

* * *

"Anthony my dear boy so glad you're alright" Ducky greeted him into autopsy.

"Aw you know me Ducky can't get rid of me that easily" he laughed as he gently slid his shirt off to reveal the slight speckles of blood seeping through his bandage.

"That is true. Ah I see you've already seen Abigail then" he stated rather than questioned.

Ducky began reminiscing about sometime back in his childhood over in Scotland as he started to repair the damage that Abby had inflicted onto his shoulder, but Tony just zoned out as usual his mind immediately consumed with thoughts of Ziva.

_Kate had been his friend. One of his best friends. She was like a really annoying sister _he thought passionately as pictures of Kate flashed before his eyes _always out to get you into trouble but always there when you needed her the most. He hadn't been there for her. He had stood right there when she had died, her blood splattering across his face. He couldn't do a damned thing to stop it; it had already been too late by the time he'd even realized what had happened. Now Ziva. Ziva was something different entirely. He had never met anyone quite like her and doubted he ever would again. She really was one of a kind. And something was going to happen to her. And I have to stop it _he thought fiercely._ He didn't know what would happen or how he would stop whatever it was when it did. All he knew was the words Gibbs had said to him earlier that day 'just follow your gut'. Follow my gut... _Tony pondered the thought, the first thing springing to mind was that his gut wanted pizza, he shook that from his mind and began to brainstorm ways he could keep Ziva safe but without knowing what they were up against it was an impossible task.

* * *

"Argh" Ziva shot a filthy look at her computer before banging the monitor with her fist just for good measure.

"That won't help you know" McGee said nervously watching Ziva pummel the poor defenseless machine.

"It helps me feel better McGee and unless you're volunteering to take its place I suggest you"

She stopped when she heard the elevator doors ding open; she saw the faint look of relief wash over McGee's face from the corner of her eye as she turned to see Gibbs walk out of the elevator Tony in tow behind him. She couldn't help but smile at seeing him again.

"Ziva, you gonna just stand there gawking at Tony all day with that stupid grin on your face or you gonna give me a lead?"

She internally kicked herself, quickly coughing to mask her embarrassment and turned to face her computer to hide the faint blush that she felt appearing on her cheeks. Once staring at the screen she realized she didn't actually have anything to report back to Gibbs. She turned again her eyes locking briefly with Gibbs's before flickering over to Tony.

"DiNozzo you hungry?" Gibbs asked noticing the slightly taken aback look that had quickly covered his teams faces but choosing to ignore it.

"Uh yeah boss, sure I'm always hungry" Tony noticed the strange look that McGee was giving him and suddenly realized that he was still holding Bert. He quickly threw Abby's hippo behind his desk grinning back at McGee.

"Ok go get some dinner. David you go with him" Ziva sent him a quick questioning look "make sure he doesn't get shot again." he laughed before heading up to MTAC leaving McGee sitting alone in the bullpen.

McGee reluctantly got back to work and the daunting task of going through all of Young's personal data. He was glad Tony was ok but he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit jealous. Tony was always the hero. It had been Tony that had saved Ziva that morning. Tony that had prevented them all getting blown to pieces on his first day back at work after his bout of the plague. I mean the guy had survived the damn plague. Tony had been there for him after Kate had died, helped him to accept the truth and move on. Tony was the one that had held the team together when Gibbs had left. He really looked up to Tony and respected him a lot _not that I'll ever tell him that, the guy already has way too big an ego _he thought. Just one time he wished that he could be the hero, rather than just the probie computer geek. He leaned back in his chair momentarily zoning out, ignoring his surroundings imagining a day where he is the hero, when he saves everyone, catches the bad guy and... He's interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone

"McGee, you gotta come down here quick" said a frantic Abby "and get Gibbs too" she finished before hanging up the phone, very unAbby like.

* * *

McGee walked into the lab swiftly followed by Gibbs

"Abby?"

"I was just going through Young's computer you know to see if I missed anything by the way the guy is a total"

"Abby!"

"Right sorry, well I was on his computer and he received an e-mail, so I checked it out and here's the scary part." she drew in a deep breath before carrying on "Young sent it to himself. And well...here" she displayed the e-mail up onto the screen and watched as his eyes quickly took in the words of the e-mail, the briefest look of alarm cross his face, so quick that if you hadn't been watching you wouldn't have seen it. She scrunched up her eyes "I can't trace it Gibbs" she opened her eyes again to look him square in the face "I can't trace it" she repeated despondently.

"Hey" he cooed softly "it's ok. McGee. See what you can do" he noticed his young field agent snap back to attention the look of worry dissolving from his face to be replaced by a look of steely determination.

"On it boss"

"You get anything on the letter?" he spoke down towards Abby's head; her face was snuggled up to his chest her arms were wrapped around him encasing him in one of her death grip hugs.

"What if we don't catch him cuz I couldn't trace the e-mail and then he gets you Gibbs? Huh? What if"

"Abby. We'll get him ok? I promise"

She looked up at him and nodded her head.

"Now Abs I need you to work on that letter"

"Ok. Yes sir" she took a step back and saluted him. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Wrong hand Abs. Wrong hand"

* * *

Tony and Ziva sat facing each other. They had barely exchanged a word the whole way here and now they sat opposite each other, their menus hiding their faces the table like an ocean between them.

"I know that..." they spoke in unison before bursting out into a nervous laughter which soon became the uncontrollable belly-aching laughter that you just couldn't stop. They were getting rude stares from all around them but they didn't care, it felt good to laugh. Tony was holding his shoulder in pain and Ziva wiped away a few tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes. Eventually their laughter died down and silence fell between them again, slightly altered but still not quite comfortable.

"Tony, are you ok?" Ziva asked staring intently into his eyes.

He knew what she meant but he couldn't tell her about his dreams, about the worry that he was carrying around with him, he knew if he did she'd get all defensive and tell him that she could look after herself. He looked down to his menu, only to look back up seconds later and match her stare.

"Yeah Ziva. I'm fine" he saw her face momentarily twist into an expression that he couldn't read. He beamed his special DiNozzo smile at her and hoped that that would be enough.

She smiled in spite of herself. She knew that he was lying, but she didn't see what else she could do, short of torturing him, to get the truth.

A waiter headed toward them and stood at the side of their table an expectant look on his face. Ziva looked at her menu was about to speak when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket which was followed by a ring seconds later.

She looked up apologetically at the waiter just who sighed dramatically and stalked off in the other direction.

"Officer David."

She listened into the phone for a minute or so before hanging up without saying another word.

"Sorry Tony, looks like you're gonna have to stay hungry a while longer" she said as she got up out her chair and slung her jacket on.

"Abby get something?"

"Nope"

"Well?"

"McGee has disappeared and is not answering his cell. Gibbs is furious. Abby is hysterical. It appears that he traced an e-mail Young sent to himself and has gone after him alone, he is trying to be the night wearing shiny armor"

"Knight in shining armor." Tony corrected through force of habit before realizing that Ziva was not even listening and was already half way out of the restaurant.

_Nice I get shot and still have to pay _he thought chucking down a couple of notes to pay for their practically untouched drinks before hurrying out after her.

* * *

They arrived back at NCIS, in what Tony considered quite possibly to be record breaking time they immediately went down to the lab, but stopped short of where Abby and Gibbs where standing when their attention was caught by the plasma screen. The large black bold font standing out from the white background.

**I see you decided to ignore my warning Agent Gibbs. Now I have no choice but to kill you and your team.**

* * *

**A/N: So...? Whatd'ya think?**


	11. Chapter 11: Bad Things

**A/N: Please R&R, tell me honestly what you think. I can handle criticism... sort of :P Seriously constructive criticism is welcome.**

* * *

"What have you got for me Abs

"Gibbs...Gibbs? Are you there?" Abby shouted down the phone.

"I'm here Abs, you got something?"

"Yeah. I analyzed the letter like you said; So far I got three partial fingerprints. The first was from one of the photos, it was Young's, another from the letter itself belongs to a Jack Owen, ex-marine, and he was dishonorably discharged in 2000. The third was on the envelope but I wasn't able to get a match to that one. I also managed to lift some DNA from the envelope, and I'm running that right now."

"Good work Abs" she let a moment pass and just when she thought Gibbs might hang up on her she spoke out again, trying to keep the worry from her voice.

"You're gonna bring McGee back right? He's gonna be ok?"

"Yes Abby. He'll be ok. Till I get my hands on him anyway" she'd heard him hesitate before he'd answered, it was the briefest of pauses but she'd heard it anyway. She nodded her head with the phone still pressed against her ear.

"I can't see if ya nod Abs" Gibbs's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Right. Sorry."

"I gotta go Abby. Ok?"

"K. Be careful though Gibbs" she hollered into the phone although she knew he'd already have hung up.

She slumped down on her chair and looked around her lab. She needed a hug. With that thought she rose from the chair and headed towards autopsy.

* * *

"He's still not answering?" Tony turned to face Ziva who was sitting in the back seat, they'd argued over who got to ride up front before Gibbs had hit them both and he'd slipped in before she had the chance.

She narrowed her eyes at him "No Tony. He answered but then I just decided to hang up"

"Sarcasm isn't pretty on you Zee-vah"

"Bullet wound isn't pretty on you Tony, but it didn't stop you getting shot" she smirked as she saw his pout before he turned round to face the road again.

"Why would Probie go after Young himself?" he wasn't sure if he had just wondered out aloud or whether he was actually asking Gibbs and Ziva the question that he couldn't fathom the answer to. Whichever it was he was met with silence anyway.

* * *

McGee picked up the ringing phone that was lying next to him, it was Ziva again, and again he just let it ring throwing it back down beside him onto the passenger seat. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes trying to plan his next move. Everything in his mind was a blur. He leaned back so his head was rested onto the headrest and he rubbed his temples trying to work out just how he'd gotten himself here. It was like the last half hour was just fragments in his memory and he couldn't piece it altogether.

One minute he'd been in the lab, trying to trace the e-mail Young had sent to himself, Abby working away on the letter behind him humming quietly to herself and talking authoritatively to her machines. It had been tricky work; Young obviously had known his way around the computer. The next thing he knew he had the address, he'd scribbled it down and without even thinking had raced out the lab.

_Why? Because Tim you wanted to be the hero, remember? No. That's not it. You sure? Yes I mean Young is after Gibbs, and Tony and Ziva were out, and besides Tony has had a pretty rough day, so I had to come. And you didn't tell anyone becuz...They would have stopped me coming. Exactly and someone else would be the hero again. "_No!" he shouted out into the empty car trying to block out the ongoing argument in his head. _Come on Tim, it's ok to admit it, everybody wants to be the hero someday. No not me, I don't want to be the hero. I really don't. Who are you trying to kid Tim? _

His phone rang again, he glanced at caller ID, this time it was Tony who was trying. He picked the phone up and held it in his hand, realizing how sweaty his palms were against the cool plastic. As far as he could tell he now had two choices. _You either answer the phone; tell them you've been stupid and that you weren't really going after Young alone. Then you let them come get you and you bring this guy down together. Or...You ignore them. After all it was you who traced the e-mail. You who raced to the cafe. You who followed Young here. You who could be the hero. _

The phone stopped ringing in his hands before he reached a decision. He knew that he was being stupid and irrational; he knew that he was acting completely out of character and wouldn't be able to explain this away. He thought about what he was really doing, what he was prepared to do next, did it really matter that Tony always seemed to be the brave one, the one who saved the day, when he sat idly by fiddling at his computer? It didn't matter. He knew this yet he couldn't let go of the need to prove himself worthy of being in the team. But to who? Before he even thought of the answer he stepped out of the car pulling his firearm from his belt and headed towards the warehouse.

* * *

Abby sat down in autopsy clutching a Caf-Pow in one hand and hugging Bert with the other, both of which Ducky had dutifully gone to get for her when she'd turned up in autopsy on the verge of tears arms outstretched for a hug.

"Do you think it's something in the water Ducky?"

"What's that my dear?"

"I dunno. Something that makes bad things always happen to us."

"Oh no, I wouldn't expect so. I'm sure the water is just fine. Although admittedly not as good as the stuff we drink back in Scotland" he chuckled.

She let a small smile flutter across her face.

"Well then why is it that bad things always happen to our team? I mean look at today. First Tony gets shot. Then Gibbs becomes a marked man, with a crazy marine murderer after him. And now McGee has gone after him all by himself and who knows what might happen to him." she reached out her arms again and he embraced her in another hug. He could feel the tears stream freely down her face as she mumbled into his shoulder "Now all we need is for something bad to happen to Ziva."

* * *

**A/N 2: Ok guys I need y'all to help me come up with ideas on how I can tie up this story, you up for it? Joint team effort! :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Dead?

**A/N this was supposed to be the finale, but it's now the penultimate chapter. Hope you like it, and sorry for any typos or mistakes in tenses, just let me know and I'll edit them :)**

* * *

"Why hasn't he called yet?" Abby whined to Ducky.

"Have you ever paused to consider that Jethro might be to busy at the moment to call you my dear?"

She scowled at the thought.

They had retreated back to her lab but she was still holding tightly onto Bert and her Caf-Pow, her music playing quietly in the background. Ducky had insisted on turning her music down to a reasonable volume if she wished for him to stay.

She let out a long deep sigh. He sat patiently awaiting what was to come next.

"First Tony gets shot. Then Gibbs is a marked man. Now poor Timmy could be in trouble, and I'm stuck here and Gibbs hasn't called" she paused and brought the cup up to her lips, but then lifted it to her ear and shook gingerly "and now I've finished my Caf-Pow, no more caffeine goodness" she was on the verge of tears again "I need a vacation" she muttered as Ducky gently removed the cup she had grasped in her hand and threw it into the trash where it sat along with some other six or seven empty cups.

"Ah. A vacation. Did I ever tell you of the holiday that mother and I took when I was a lad? Yes, it was a wonderful summer, glorious weather so we decided to go to Lincoln for a few days. Quite marvellous..."

* * *

Tony closed his eyes and let his mind travel through the past and recap everything that happened over the last few days.

_The dream. That's where it had all began. The dream of Kate. That night sleeping at his desk where he'd once again relived her final moments. Thinking about it now he could feel the warmth of her blood as it splattered onto his face. He remembered that moment so clearly, the exact moment he'd realized that she was gone. Things had slowly unravelled from there. Jaxon Davis. Then Riley Davis's body which for him had been accompanied with another dream of Kate. Then the photos of the crash scene, Mrs. Davis so alike Kate. Then Young had entered the picture. He'd known they were onto him, and he had fled. That night had been one of the worst since Kate had died. Each dream vivid in his minds eye, then the image that plucked him from his sleep, the vision of Ziva dead and in Kate's place. Things had pretty much snowballed into the disaster they were in now from there. The e-mail. The gunfight. The explosion. He'd be shot. He'd been shot! That time in hospital nothing but a quick break to rejuvenate before back on the case. Then it'd been the letter, the photos, and the death threat. It's not like they'd never been in sticky situations before, but Young, he was different, he truly was crazy and would stop at nothing to get the revenge that he desired. So things had been bad enough with the letter but then there had been the e-mail that had put a price on all their heads, not just Gibbs. Then the ultimate nightmare, Probie had gone after this guy alone._

_But what part did Ziva play in all this? After all it was her that he had been warned through his dreams to protect. Gibbs had told him to follow his gut. He'd been watching out for Ziva, but what had he done to protect McGee? Nothing. This was all his fault. A guy like Young could easily take out McGee, and if he did, it'd be all his fault._

* * *

"...yes the cathedral was..." Ducky stopped mid sentence at the bleeping sound from the laptop lying on the desk.

Abby rushed over to Young's laptop.

"Sorry Duckman but Young just sent himself another e-mail."

She opened the e-mail and with no explanation burst into tears.

* * *

"Tony? Tony! Are you even listening to me?"

"Sure I am Zee-vah"

"Well what did I just say then?"

"You said 'are you even listening to me?' which see I was" he stuck his tongue out at her, and was thankful that they were in a moving car so she couldn't inflict too much pain on him but she still managed to land a soft punch to his back.

She stuck her tongue back out at him before quickly turning to face the window when she saw Gibbs frown at her in the rear-view mirror.

They turned into an empty car park for some abandoned and derelict looking buildings.

"This the place?" Gibbs directed the question at his senior field agent but was met with a reply from Ziva.

"These are the coordinates that Abby gave us Gibbs, McGee should be here somewhere."

"Hope the probie is alright" Tony quietly voiced the thought that they'd all been thinking.

They continued to cruise through the giant car park until Gibbs suddenly slammed on the breaks. McGee's car was parked just meters away, unscathed and untouched, nothing to indicate that even the slightest thing was wrong. Gibbs turned the engine off, and the car fell into silence. The quietness seemed to engulf them, Ziva reached for her firearm and patted it gently, before drawing out her knife and running her finger along the edge of the blade. Gibbs turned to look at DiNozzo who instinctively turned to lock eyes with his Boss, in that second a silent message passed between the two men, completely unnoticed by Ziva. Gibbs was the first to look away pulling the keys from the ignition, unbuckling his seat belt and pushing open the door. Tony sat still just a moment longer, mentally preparing himself for whatever might come, his body tingled with a strange sense of excitement, he subconsciously rubbed his shoulder before joining Gibbs and Ziva who had also stepped out from the car.

It was liked they were trapped in a bubble. It was an unusual sensation. There was just nothingness. No noise coming from any of the buildings that towered above them. No other existence in the car park with them. No sounds of normal life oozing in from the surrounding area. There wasn't even a wind rustling the rubbish scattered on the ground. Just silence. The calm before the storm.

"Get down!" Ziva's voice pierced his thoughts and he felt her roughly grab him and pull his body to the ground, he hit the cold hard surface his face inches from the tire.

Laying on the ground it took a second for him to regain his senses, and when he did he saw Ziva and Gibbs, both crouched next to him guns in hands, determination written in the eyes. The silence had enveloped them again, but now there was a ringing in his ears, and he could hear his own hard laboured breath. His shoulder was throbbing in pain and he could feel a trickle of blood escape the wound. Ziva slowly moved to take a step to the side of the car but he pulled her back, Gibbs simultaneously taking her place, she twisted round to face him, rage devouring her features, his eyes pleaded with her and he watched as she quickly got her emotions back in check and her face became an expressionless stare. Gibbs slowly revealed himself trying to lure out the shooter and as he did so another shot rang out into the emptiness the bullet flying past Gibbs as he returned fire. He hit his target, the body of a man slumped over the low wall from behind which he'd been hiding and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.

* * *

McGee let out a low groan of pain as another punch slammed into his face. His body was battered and broken, his legs had long since ceased to support him, his right eye was swollen shut, he could taste his own blood on his lips and in his mouth, his throat was burning, and his breathing was ragged and painful. He couldn't tell how long the punches had been raining down on him, he knew it couldn't have been long, but to him it felt like an eternity.

_Surely Gibbs will be here to save me soon? Gibbs wouldn't let me down. He wouldn't. He'd get there. _The pain seared through his brain as another fist came into contact with the side of his head, he could feel his consciousness slipping away, and with this the first elements of doubt began to snake there way into his mind. _Would Gibbs really come to his rescue? Would he get here before it was too late? Or was this to be the end? What have I done? _His head filled with thoughts that he couldn't hide from, that he couldn't ignore. _What fate had he led his team to? What would happen to them because of him?_

Another punch landed square on his chest, pain shooting through his body and catching in his throat as a cry, and he let go, he closed his eyes and felt his body slump to the ground.

* * *

Tony looked at their car in bewilderment. The side was completely ravaged by bullets, he concluded that he must have lost consciousness momentarily after he hit the deck and had been out for the worst of the gunfire. He surveyed the damage to the car again, _boy they'd been lucky._

"You ok DiNozzo?"

"Never better Boss"

"Let's go then"

"On your six Boss"

Just then Gibbs's phone rang breaking the mysterious silence that had once again fallen upon them.

"Now is not a good time Abs"

"Jethro" there was something in the MEs voice that told him not to hang up.

"Ducky?" he felt Ziva and Tony lean in closer so they too could hear the conversation.

Ducky was quiet on the other end of the line, he heard muffled cries.

"Ducky? Is Abby crying?" Ziva and Tony exchanged glances, _how could this be getting any worse?_

Again Gibbs was met with silence from Ducky; he was beginning to get angry.

"Dr Mallard?!"

"I'm so sorry Jethro." his voice was solemn, he'd heard that tone before, and it had never been good. "Young has just sent himself an e-mail and..." he trailed off.

"Ducky?" his voice croaking slightly he was almost afraid of the answer, but he needed to know.

"It says, I'm sorry Jethro, it says that Tim is dead."

* * *

He heard Ziva gasp, and he could feel Tony tense beside him. He closed the phone in his hand and let it drop to his side slipping from his hand and smashing as it hit the ground. It took him a second to gather up his emotions, they were not for now. He couldn't deal with them now. _Tim was dead?_ He shook his head, and clenched his fists. _Young was a dead man walking now._

He made his way carefully towards the entrance of the nearest building, knowing that Tony and Ziva followed behind. He stood to one side of the door, DiNozzo and Ziva at the other, guns drawn, he nodded silently and Ziva complied with his wordless request by pulling open the door. They were met by an eerie stillness. Then they saw it. A body lying in the middle of the floor, blood pooling around the head.

* * *

**A/N: Ok so what do you guys think? And do you want the final chapter today or Monday/Tuesday? (I'm going away for the weekend! YEY)**


	13. Chapter 13: Kate

**A/N: Ok so this is the final chapter, hope you enjoy it and have enjoyed reading 'Something in a dream'. Massive thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed but especially to Trivette Lover Heather, MissJayne and sasenbol, thanks you guys :)**

**Please R&R :D**

* * *

McGee re-entered the realm of consciousness to the faint yet unmistakable echo of gunshots. His entire body throbbed and ached in pain. He opened the only eye he could a fraction and peered around the room. Jack Owen was still there gun trained on him. Young was just yards away pacing the room, his boots making a sharp sound against the concrete with every step. The other man who'd been there was gone. _The gunshots? It meant they were here. _Hope surged through his body and with this new strength he began to formulate a plan.

* * *

After a moment and when certain that there was no immediate threat to the remainder of his team Gibbs ran over to the body, Ziva seemed to hesitate and Tony knew that she was dealing with emotions she was unaccustomed to so he gently placed his hand on the small of her back urging her forward slightly. Gibbs had flipped the body over by the time they'd reached him, and Tony felt himself let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding when he saw it wasn't McGee.

* * *

McGee knew that his plan would to take a lot of luck to work, _but hey he wasn't dead yet so luck must be on his side today._ He eyed his surroundings one last time. Owen still sat stock still gun unwavering in his own direction. Young had stopped pacing and stood staring out the window, cell phone in hand. _It's now or never Tim, you were the one who wanted to be a hero after all _and with this he recruited every ounce of strength he had remaining and lunged himself at Owen. From the corner of his eye he saw Young react immediately but it was too late to worry about that now. His vision was blurred at best, thoughts were coming and going faster than he could process, every inch of his body screamed in pain. He felt the cool metal flash across his bruised skin and suddenly through some miracle, act of God whatever it was he had the gun in hands. Without a second thought he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Ziva silently pointed out a trail of tiny blood drops glimmering against the dirty floor. Together the three of them made their way through the dingy old building. Up one set of stairs and continuing forward. Gibbs came to an abrupt halt when they were met with a solid metal door. They stood toe to toe with it, eyeing it cautiously. Tony could feel the excitement emanating from Ziva's body, she lived for this kind of thing, and she was back in control. He thought of McGee. _He might not be dead. He might not be dead yet. Please don't let him be dead._ Again they assumed their positions either side of the door before they stormed through only to be met with nothing but a faint dripping noise as somewhere close by droplets of water splashed down against something metal.

Then suddenly from the quietness erupted a gunshot, immediately their bodies tensed, preparing to fight, senses sharpened, all other thoughts blocked out.

* * *

McGee stood, in a state of disbelief but his mind still clear as to what was at stake here. The scent of his own blood now mixed with that of Owen's drifted up through his nostrils. He knew without looking that Jack Owen lay dead beside him. His one good eye stared unblinkingly at Young. There he stood hands lifted slightly in the air, gun hanging uselessly on his belt. He was standing next to an open door; a door McGee could only assume led up to the roof. He had nowhere to go and best of all he knew it. McGee allowed the slow smile of triumph to spread across his face. _He'd done it. Somehow he'd actually done it. _

* * *

Gibbs charged toward the sound of the shots, praying as he ran that it wasn't McGee and that he hadn't been too late to save his junior field agent. Ziva and Tony he knew were close behind. They stormed through another doorway. And there he was. The man they'd been looking for.

* * *

McGee heard the sounds of footsteps hurtling towards him. The second he turned his head in that direction he knew he'd made a mistake, perhaps a fatal mistake.

In this fleeting break in McGee's concentration Young had taken his opportunity.

He could see Young disappearing through the doorway and began after him, but his legs just wouldn't carry him anymore and though his mind protested his body was relentless and within just a few short steps his legs had crumpled and given way underneath him.

* * *

Gibbs ran to his agent's side, swiftly taking in his bloody and beaten appearance and the dead body lying feet away.

"Boss. I'm so sorry."

Gibbs shook his head.

"I had him Boss. I had him when I knew you were coming"

Tony reached down and helped Gibbs bring McGee into a standing position.

"Then I...I turned, I know it was stupid, but...then he...gone"

McGee looked up into Gibbs's face trying to work out his expression. He was half expecting to feel the connection of his boss's hand with the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"McGee. Stop apologizing, it's a sign of weakness"

McGee looked up again at his boss before his eyes flitted across to Tony. Just before he realized he was watching he was sure he had seen something that looked like a glimmer of relief in Tony's eyes.

"Boss. I know I shouldn't have" Gibbs put his hand up to stop McGee from continuing.

McGee opened his mouth again to speak. He felt he needed to apologize, for going after Young alone. For letting him slip through his fingers. For wanting to act the hero. For everything.

"It's ok. I know. I know. Sometimes you just gotta follow your gut. And you did good Tim" McGee smiled in the knowledge that Gibbs understood and he wasn't even mad.

"Sheesh McGee you get jealous of my scars or something?" Tony joked, _typical DiNozzo._

McGee smiled even brighter though his face hurt and he could tell his cheeks were puffy and swollen. He let his eyes travel around the room, taking in the dead body of Jack Owen.

"Hey where's Ziva?"

* * *

Ziva's heart skipped a beat when she saw McGee alive and ... well alive. She was about to stop when she heard a door slam somewhere above her, her eyes darted quickly from where Tony and Gibbs had come to halt at McGee's side and the door leading to the stairwell and her feet carried her forward.

She erupted out of the door at the top of the stairs, sun shining in a clear blue sky. She saw Young sprint across the roof some several metres away from her.

"NCIS!" she shouted out across the expansive roof. _If I was with Mossad I'd shoot him right here but that's not the way NCIS do things. Although somehow I don't think Gibbs would mind. _She decided not to shoot. Young had very few options as she saw it. _Where could he possibly go? _She watched him pull up from his sprint and abruptly come to a halt.

She watched as he turned to face her slowly. His eyes full of menace.

Gun in hand.

* * *

_Oh my God! Where is she? She was here a minute ago. How could I let her go? This is it. All the warnings and I still manage to screw it all up. How could you let this happen __DiNozzo__? _He was taking the stairs two and three at a time. He could hear Gibbs close behind him. His heart was beating a hundred miles a minute. His thoughts seemed foggy, his mind a jumbled mess. His shoulder throbbed and a dull burning sensation began to make its way slowly down his arm.

_There he was on the roof. Kate and Gibbs stood beside him. "Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard…" A gunshot. Blood. Kate's blood._

"Ziva!"

* * *

Young's face split into a wicked grin, a smile that never reached his eyes.

* * *

_McGee. He was ok. He's alive. He didn't die. So how could you let her go? If she dies..._

He could see the roof now. The sun was streaming in through the doorway half blinding him. Then he heard it. The sound that stopped his heart and sent a chill down his spine. A gunshot. _No. No. No. Please no._

He launched himself up the final few stairs and through the open door.

* * *

She watched as if in slow motion the bullet leave the gun. She felt instinctively the shot hit its target. She heard the final gasp as death took hold.

* * *

Tony stood gun in hand, breathing deeply, blood pulsing through his body, hammering in his ears. His shoulder burning with pain.

_Autopsy. There she is. Right there. Right before him is the drawer he knows his partner lies in. Never to wake up. He gathers his courage and pulls open the door. Even in death she's beautiful. The bullet wound stands out against her now grayish skin. Kate. _

* * *

Ziva turns around to see Tony gawking at her.

"What is it Tony? You look as if you've seen a ghoul."

He smiles; it's all he can do. _It was just a dream after all. Thank-you God. There she is. Standing in front of him in all her scary ninja glory_. Laughter escapes from him loud and hard, and despite the pain in his shoulder it feels good.

Gibbs was now standing beside him a rare smile on his face. McGee too had managed to drag himself up the stairs and was hunched over panting hard with the effort, but despite this manages to throw Ziva a questioning look.

She shrugs her shoulders, just as puzzled at her partners sudden fit of laughter.

"Tony thinks he has seen a ghoul" she says by way of explanation.

"Ghost Ziva. I look like I've seen a ghost."

She looked at him in bewilderment. A frown across her face.

* * *

Tony looked up across the roof taking in Young's crumpled body, the life already sapped out of him. Then out over the rooftops, his eyes catching on something out of place. He squinted but whatever was there had already gone. He shook his head dispelling any thoughts he had of what or who it might have been. _Damn painkillers making me see things now. I need to sleep, before I start hearing things_ _too_. He looked back over the roofs just to make sure. _You couldn't write this in a movie. _He turned his face up towards the sky. _Thanks Kate._

He took the few steps that brought him to his team. Ziva uncharacteristically had her arms wrapped around McGee, Gibbs had his hand on McGee's back offering him support from toppling over again. He stood beside them, jumping slightly when his cell phone began to ring in his pocket.

"Tony, what's going on I tried Gibbs but... is McGee alright? Is everything ok?" a hysterical Abby blurted out into the phone.

"Yeah Abs." he hesitated for a second and looking again at his Boss still kinda weird with that smile plastered on his face, McGee the friend he could so easily have lost and then finally to Ziva who for one awful moment there he thought he had "Everything is great."

* * *


End file.
